“It all fits in really well,” said a happy Hasan Salihamidžić about the deal to bring in new signing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The German record champions have gained a flexible attacker and team player who has now almost come full circle: Eleven years ago, the striker scored his first Bundesliga goal against FC Bayern in an FC Nürnberg shirt – and now the 49-time Cameroon international joins the German record champions in the hunt for goals.
Choupo-Moting scored his first Bundesliga goal in September 2009 for FC Nürnberg against FC Bayern - but the match at the Allianz Arena ended in a 2-1 defeat for FCN.
Experience at the highest level
The 31-year-old forward, who can play down the middle or on the wings, comes to Munich with the experience of over 300 appearances under his belt. In addition to playing for Hamburg SV, FC Nürnberg, Mainz 05 and Schalke 04, he also played in the Premier League at Stoke City and most recently in Ligue 1 for serial champions Paris Saint-Germain.
There when he’s needed
As coincidence would have it, the striker played his last game against his new employers: At the Champions League final in Lisbon, Choupo-Moting came on as a substitute on 80 minutes but was (fortunately) unable to help the French side come back from being 1-0 down. The fact the new FCB number 13 is clinical from the subs bench was aptly demonstrated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League when he scored the winning goal at 2-1 against Atalanta Bergamo in added time. He scored six of his nine goals for PSG as a substitute.
Pure joy: Thanks to Choupo-Moting’s last-minute winner, Paris Saint-Germain went through to the Champions League semi-finals in August.
Friends reunited
“He was an important part of our group because he knew his role perfectly,” said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel in explaining the merits of Choupo-Moting and he also confirmed he fits in perfectly with any team on a personal level. Settling in at his new club in Munich should not prove to be difficult – he will meet up with some former teammates in the FCB squad. In addition to Tanguy Nianzou, who also played for PSG last season,he knows Leroy Sané and Leon Goretzka from his time at Schalke as well as Jérôme Boateng from his early days at Hamburg SV.
On Monday, FC Bayern signed Choupo-Moting and returnee Douglas Costa.
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